Flashback – how not to spend your academic holiday and the start of term

Since my last blogpost, I was struck down with a virus. A nasty one that has left me with hearing loss in my right ear. I started the break for Easter with a few days holiday in Ireland.

Guinness in Dublin

All was going well until on day 2 we were both struck down by the flu. What followed was a perforated eardrum, antibiotics and a visit to an ENT consultant. Yuck. The doctor reckons it will take 2-4 weeks until things are back to normal. We are now in week 2 and after spending an hour at work yesterday, I had to swiftly return home. Being in ‘big spaces’ – and this includes a smallish office with a high ceiling – seems to make everything worse. You can’t really hear people properly and things are fuzzy. As a cultural geographer, the way in which I am currently experiencing space and as a result place is pushing me to consider more fully the embodied nature of research and academic life!

So what am I missing? Well, I’ve had to follow doctor’s advice and not travel. I’ve missed the AAG in Chicago. #gutted. Fortunately my session was co-organised with Prof Muki Haklay. You can find his blog here. He kindly stepped into the breach. And so – here I am – sitting in Reading waiting for the session to start in Chicago and hopefully read all about it on Twitter.

I’ve done my best below to piece together from Twitter what happened. Thanks to everyone who contributed.